Department for Transport

Speed Limits: Cameras

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they decided that all grey speed cameras should be painted yellow, and what safety benefits they expect to result from that change.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has always been clear that speed cameras are for smoothing traffic flow, reducing congestion and enhancing safety rather than for revenue raising. All working grey speed cameras are being painted yellow within a year to make them more visible, so that motorists know the cameras are there.The purpose of this particular type of camera is to enforce variable speed limits on smart motorways which smooth traffic flow and help reduce congestion. The safety outcome of this change in colour will be monitored by Highways England.

Aviation: Sierra Leone

Baroness Hayman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the World Health Organisation's designation of Sierra Leone as free from Ebola, they plan to support the resumption of direct flights from the UK to that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Given the improved situation in Sierra Leone, the resumption of direct flights is currently being reviewed by the Government. Subject to the outcome of this review, we are prepared to process the appropriate permissions for flights to begin.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Arms Trade: Exports

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy to suspend existing arms export licences, and to refuse new ones, if a country is believed to be committing violations of international law during an armed conflict.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria We keep all licences under review in the light of changing circumstances in countries of destination for UK arms exports.

Department for International Development

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Helic: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 4 November (HL2983), what representations they have made to the governments of (1) Saudi Arabia, and (2) the United Arab Emirates, about their assistance in ensuring immediate humanitarian access for non-governmental organisations in Yemen, and what has been the outcome of those representations.

Baroness Verma: The UK continues to work with the Governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on improving access for humanitarian aid and workers. We are supporting the work of the UN Special Envoy to convene peace talks in the coming weeks and to negotiate a lasting ceasefire as the best way to improve humanitarian access.

Ministry of Justice

Council Tax: Unpaid Taxes

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, in how many instances people have been imprisoned for defaulting on payment of their council tax.

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, how many cases of individuals imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax were appealed to the High Court, and in how many of those cases the appeals were upheld.

Lord Faulks: Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:YearTotal20121072013108201489Notes:These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statisticsIn extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.YearNumber of Judicial ReviewsUpheldRefused201200020130002014202Notes:These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of regional variations in achieving their target of establishing superfast broadband coverage to 90 per cent of the UK by 2016.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is committed toprovidingsuperfast broadband coverage to 95 per centof UK premisesby 2017. At the end Phase 1 of the programme, we expect to reach 90 per cent coverage across the UK -and more than 90 per cent superfast coverage in around two thirds of local body partnership areas. For the longer term the Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadbandUniversal Service Obligation,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps,nomatterwherein the countrytheylive.Data on regional and local coverage of superfast broadband was published by Ofcom in its Infrastructure Report in December 2014:http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/infrastructure/2014/Fixed_local_authority.csv.DCMS has also placed estimates of superfast coverage at constituency level at the end of the current broadband programme in the House of Commons library, reference DEP2015-0163:http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/?fd=2015-02-01&td=2015-04-01&house=1&search_term=Department+for+Culture%2c+Media+and+Sport&itemId=122028#toggle-163

Athletics: Drugs

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the allegations directed at the leadership of the International Association of Athletics Federations in the light of the World Anti-Doping Agency report on non-compliance and widespread doping in Russian athletics.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) near unanimous vote to suspend Russian athletes from all competition reflected the worldwide reaction to the Independent Commission's report to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).Russia, the IAAF and WADA must now work together, to not only resolve the findings within the report, but to also re-establish the trust of clean athletes and spectators.

Ministry of Defence

Russia: Baltic States

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following recent atrocities by ISIL against a number of countries, including Russia, they have reconsidered the statement by the Defence Secretary on 19 February that there is a "real and present danger" Russia could try to destabilise the Baltic states.

Earl Howe: The Government's position has been stated in the recently published Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cm 9161). Russia's behaviour is hard to predict and although highly unlikely, we cannot rule out the possibility that Russia may feel tempted to act aggressively against NATO Allies. We also want to keep open the possibility of co-operation and will continue to seek to engage with Russia on global security issues, including international efforts to tackle the ISIL threat.

Ministry of Defence: Disclosure of Information

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Ministry of Defence made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.

Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence does not hold a central record of non-disclosure agreements and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax: Unpaid Taxes

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued any guidance on the circumstances in which an individual should be imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: In June 2013, DCLG issued 'Guidance to Local Councils on Good Practice in the Collection of Council Tax Arrears'. The document (attached) provides guidance to local authorities on enforcement and clearly sets out the Government’s position. It is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdfCollection and enforcement of unpaid council tax is a matter for local authorities. They are best placed to consider the circumstances of the taxpayer who has fallen into arrears and to decide what action to take.



Guidance to Local Council on good practice
(PDF Document, 48.05 KB)